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Posted

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:05:49 +0100, "Simon Finnigan"

<SimonFinnigan@Hotmail.Com> wrote:

>"chrisv" <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

>news:3e0jc3tk6u73mbkacao6a28qa61558ut7b@4ax.com...

>> Conor wrote:

>>

>>>In article <wbqdnZAgH4r7-FnbnZ2dnUVZ_uadnZ2d@comcast.com>, notbob

>>>says...

>>>

>>>> I see no one has mentioned the biggest reason why Windows sucks. I

>>>> just experienced the 3rd drive-by download/infection in three years on

>>>> my little used Windows box. It wiped my main scsi drive. This

>>>> occured via Firefox with both java and java scripts disabled. I've

>>>> never experience this with Linux. It was a dual boot system I use for

>>>> little used Windows applications and linux hacking. Now, the whole

>>>> box is compromised and must be wiped clean.

>>>>

>>>That says more about your incompetency than anything.

>>

>> Idiot. What percentage of the population, currently connected to the

>> Internet, would you say are "competent" in regards to computers?

>>

>> Starting to see the problem with Windows' insecurity, cretin?

>>

>>>If it were that

>>>bad, it'd be happening to everybody.

>>

>> It's happened majority of home Windows machines connected to the

>> Internet, cretin.

>

>What a well reasoned, credible arguement. I`m so glad you chose not to back

>up your statements with any mere facts or statistics, because you obviously

>don`t need them :-)

 

 

While I have no idea if it has happened to the "majority" of

home windows machines, statistically speaking, I can tell

you that windows vulerabilities have cause infestation on

the majority of other people's systems that I have seen.

 

However, we're talking about Windows vs Linux, and failing

to distinguish the actual vulnerability in these "drive-by"

infections which is not windows itself per se but rather the

integrated browser which a windows user is not forced to

use.

 

Nevertheless, even ignoring that at any given moment there

are always holes exploitable on windows, and a few

inevitably there for Linux as well, there is one remaining

factor relating to security: While nothing is 100% secure,

the prudent security level depends on the risk.

 

The risk of being infected on a windows system is much

higher because windows is targeted. We could argue that

it's targeted because a hacker wants to do as much damage or

take control of as many bots as possible or a similar

argument that it only makes sense to focus on the masses

since the majority of home PCs run windows, but regardless

of the reason it is _really_ less secure as a result, and

Windows PCs will remain less secure even if the inbuilt

security measures become overwhelmingly better than on any

other OS.

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